With its sleek design, impressive features, and affordable price tag, the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G has quickly become one of my favorites.
In this review article, I will share my personal experience with the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G review, covering its performance, camera capabilities, battery life, and more.
So, if you're curious about this cutting-edge device from Xiaomi, keep reading to learn why I believe it's a top contender in the competitive smartphone market.
Should you buy the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G?
If you're in the market for a new smartphone, the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G is a compelling choice. With its sleek and stylish design, powerful performance, and affordable price point, this smartphone offers an impressive package.
The 11 Lite NE 5G boasts a high-quality display for vibrant visuals, a fast and efficient 5G connectivity for seamless browsing and streaming, a capable camera system for capturing stunning photos, and a long-lasting battery life for extended usage.
Add to that Xiaomi's reputation for producing reliable and innovative devices, and the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G becomes a strong contender for anyone seeking a feature-packed smartphone without breaking the bank.
Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G Review
Highlights of the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G
- Sleek design - The slimmest and lightest 5G smartphone of 2021. The Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G is a stunning device
- Good Performance - Powered by Snapdragon 778G makes it competitive for its price tag
- Excellent Display - 10-bit AMOLED panel with support for up to 1 Billion colors and 90Hz refresh rate
- Software - Xiaomi promised 3 years of major Android updates and 4 years of Security updates for the device
- This is easily one of the best mid-range smartphones of 2021 and 2022. Good performance, premium design, and excellent display made it a popular choice
Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G Design Review
The ultimate selling point of the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G is its design. This is the lightest and the slimmest 5G smartphone of 2021 and 2022.
At just 6.8mm and 158 grams, the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G feels amazing in hand. It is sleek, lightweight and a breath of fresh air compared to the bulky phones of today.
Apart from the slim and lightweight design, the phone has a glass back and a cool-looking triple camera island on the back.
The front is almost all screen except for the tiny bezels and that punch hole camera cutout.
The Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G has stereo speakers with an amplified earpiece speaker. The other speaker is on the bottom, next to the USB-C port.
The Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G has the volume and power buttons on the right side. This makes it easy to access them.
The power button is also the fingerprint sensor on the 11 Lite NE 5G. The sensor is fast, responsive, and ergonomic.
The hybrid SIM card slot is on the bottom, you can either use 2 SIMs or 1 SIM and a microSD card. That is all there is to know about the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G’s design.
The phone is designed exquisitely, and the slim and lightweight design looks and feels great. My only complaint is that there is no 3.5mm jack, but that is the sad trend nowadays with smartphones.
Other than that I have no complaints with the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G’s design. It even has an IP53 rating for some dust and water resistance.
You can get the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G in four color options, Vinyl Black, Jazz Blue, Tuscany Coral, and Diamond Dazzle. My favorite is the Jazz Blue variant.
Is the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G Display Good?
The Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G features a stunning 6.55-inch AMOLED display that boasts a wide color gamut of 1 billion colors, providing vivid and lifelike visuals that truly enhance the overall viewing experience.
The display on the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G is packed with advanced technologies such as Dolby Vision and HDR10+, which deliver stunning contrast and vibrant colors, making every image and video come to life with incredible detail and depth.
Whether I was streaming my favorite movies or playing graphics-intensive games, the dynamic range and color accuracy of the display truly stood out, providing a truly immersive visual experience.
The Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G also features a fast 90Hz refresh rate, which makes scrolling through apps and navigating the user interface incredibly smooth and responsive.
This high refresh rate adds fluidity to the overall user experience, making the device feel snappy and fast.
With a resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels and an aspect ratio of 20:9, the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G's display offers crisp and sharp visuals with a pixel density of approximately 402 pixels per inch.
This ensures that images and text are rendered with excellent clarity and sharpness, allowing for an enjoyable reading and viewing experience.
The Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G also features Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection, which provides an added layer of durability to the display, protecting it from scratches and minor accidental bumps.
This feature is particularly handy for someone like me who tends to be on the go and uses their smartphone extensively throughout the day.
One of the standout features of the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G's display is its brightness levels.
With a typical brightness of 500 nits and a High Brightness Mode (HBM) that goes up to 800 nits, the display is easily readable even in bright outdoor conditions.
This makes it convenient to use the device in various lighting conditions without any visibility issues.
In terms of size, the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G strikes a good balance with its 6.55-inch screen, which offers a screen-to-body ratio of approximately 85.3%.
This makes the device compact and easy to handle with one hand, while still providing a spacious display for multimedia consumption and productivity tasks.
Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G Performance Review
The Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G runs on Android 11, with an option to upgrade to Android 12, along with MIUI 13, Xiaomi's own user interface.
The combination of the latest Android version and MIUI 13 provides a smooth and intuitive user experience, with a plethora of customization options.
One of the standout features of the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G is its powerful chipset. Powered by the Qualcomm SM7325 Snapdragon 778G 5G chipset, built on a 6nm architecture, this device delivers impressive performance.
The octa-core CPU ensures smooth multitasking and lag-free performance, even with resource-intensive tasks.
The Adreno 642L GPU in the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G provides excellent graphics performance, making it perfect for gaming and multimedia consumption.
I found that gaming on this device was a breeze, with smooth frame rates and crisp graphics.
The Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G comes in different storage variants, including 128GB with 6GB RAM, 128GB with 8GB RAM, and 256GB with 8GB RAM.
The UFS 2.2 storage technology ensures fast read and write speeds, allowing for quick app launches and smooth performance even when dealing with large files.
One minor drawback is that the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G does not have a dedicated microSD card slot.
Instead, it uses a shared SIM slot for expandable storage, which means you'll have to choose between using two SIM cards or one SIM card and a microSD card for storage expansion.
However, with ample internal storage options available, this may not be a deal breaker for most users.
In terms of day-to-day performance, the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G handles everything I throw at it with ease. Apps launch quickly, and multitasking is smooth.
The device also handles heavy browsing, media streaming, and social media without any noticeable lag.
Does the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G have a Good Camera?
The camera setup on this phone is impressive, featuring a triple-camera system with a 64 MP wide lens, an 8 MP ultrawide lens, and a 5 MP telephoto macro lens, along with a 20 MP front-facing camera for selfies.
The 64 MP wide lens captures stunningly sharp and detailed photos. Whether I was taking photos in broad daylight or low-light conditions, the camera performed admirably, producing vibrant colors and excellent dynamic range.
The dual-LED dual-tone flash came in handy for low-light situations, providing ample light without washing out the subject.
The HDR (High Dynamic Range) feature was also effective in capturing photos with a balanced exposure, especially in challenging lighting conditions.
The panorama mode was a fun feature to use, allowing me to capture breathtaking wide-angle shots with ease.
The 8 MP ultrawide lens was a versatile addition to the camera setup, allowing me to capture a wider field of view and fit more into the frame.
The distortion correction was well-handled, and the image quality was good, although not as sharp and detailed as the main wide lens.
Nonetheless, it was a handy option for capturing sweeping landscapes or group photos.
The 5 MP telephoto macro lens was a unique addition to the camera system, allowing me to capture stunning close-up shots of tiny details, such as flowers or insects.
The macro mode was easy to activate and provided good magnification, although I noticed some loss of sharpness towards the edges of the frame. Nonetheless, it was a fun and creative option to have in the camera repertoire.
The video capabilities of the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G were also impressive.
It supported 4K video recording at 30fps, and 1080p video recording at 30/60/120fps, providing a wide range of options for capturing high-quality videos.
The video stabilization was effective in reducing shakiness, and the autofocus was quick and accurate, ensuring smooth and focused footage.
The front-facing 20 MP camera was also noteworthy. It captured sharp and detailed selfies, and the HDR and panorama modes were also available for the front camera, allowing for creative and well-exposed self-portraits.
The video recording capabilities of the front camera were also good, with support for 1080p video recording at 30/60fps and 720p video recording at 120fps.
The camera app on the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G was intuitive and easy to use, with a plethora of shooting modes and settings to choose from.
The Pro mode was particularly useful for those who prefer manual control over their photography, allowing me to adjust settings such as ISO, shutter speed, and white balance to capture the perfect shot.
Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G Battery Performance Review
The Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G is equipped with a 4250 mAh non-removable Li-Po battery, which provides ample power to keep me going throughout the day.
One of the standout features of the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G's battery is its fast charging capability.
With support for 33W wired charging, I can quickly charge my device and get back to using it in no time. This is especially handy when I am in a rush or need to top up my battery quickly before heading out.
The fast charging feature has saved me from worrying about low battery anxiety and has allowed me to continue using my device without any interruption.
In terms of battery life, the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G has been impressive.
With moderate to heavy usage that includes browsing, streaming videos, social media, and occasional gaming, I have been able to comfortably get through a full day without needing to charge my device again.
On lighter usage days, the battery life has even stretched to almost two days, which is commendable.
The Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G also comes with various power-saving modes and optimizations that allow me to customize my device's battery usage according to my needs.
The options to limit background app activity, optimize performance, and adjust screen brightness and resolution have been useful in maximizing battery life when needed.
Furthermore, the battery performance of the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G has been consistent over time, as I have not experienced any significant degradation in battery life even after prolonged usage.
This indicates good battery health and longevity, which is crucial for a device that I rely on daily.
Additionally, the non-removable nature of the battery does not pose any inconvenience for me, as the Xiaomi 11 Lite NE 5G's battery life has been more than sufficient to last me through my day-to-day activities without needing a battery replacement.
Pros
- Superb vibrant display with 90 Hz Refresh Rate.
- Slim and lightweight design.
- Powerful internals.
- Good battery life.
- Promise of a long update cycle from Xiaomi.
Cons
- No 3.5mm headphone jack.
- MIUI 12.5 had bugs and performance issues at launch.
- Design prone to fingerprints.
- Mediocre cameras compared to the competition.
- Long-term GPU performance is a miss.
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